Real time Locating Systems
Ed: For when they come to take you away Real Time Locating Systems (RTLS)
are electronic systems that are intended to locate
small electronic devices on people or things at any time.
There are many situations calling for RTLS, particularly now that
it has become affordable and the mobile devices that are sensed
have, in many cases, become small and convenient. The full range of RTLS technologies and systems
are analyzed, including: Wi-Fi Ultra Wide Band (UWB) Proprietary
and standardised RF systems at UHF,
GHz Infra-red Ultrasound Zigbee GPS, GSM Some of the options are
summarized below.

Supply chains are traditionally tracked by RFID,
barcodes and so on with a similar lack of precision. At best one
knows that the package or conveyance passed a choke point at some
stage and heroic assumptions are then made as to where it now
resides. Vehicles are also tracked with imprecision. Postal
services need to "switch the light on" and take a
holistic automated approach. The antidote to these and
other shortcomings is RTLS. The main applications of
RTLS will be in manufacturing, military, healthcare, postal/
courier, research and development and military sectors but with
increased interest from most other sectors including retail and
agriculturalhttp://satellite.tmcnet.com/news/2009/09/24/4389067.htm

RFID license plates by Unisys -- WHTI Western
Hemisphere Travel Initiative
WHTI is an agreement among the United States, Canada, Mexico
and Bermuda, whereby each participating country will issue
radio frequency identification (RFID)-enabled passports or other WHTI-compliant
documentation for entrance to or departure from the United
States. The RFID component stores the traveler's relevant
information. Card readers that Unisys will deploy and manage
will quickly communicate that information to CBP [ Customs and
Border Patrol ] , whose systems can confirm the document's
validity and the traveler's identity. http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080128/20080128005116.html?.v=1

Sarcomas ( malignant tumors ) found due to implanted microchip RFID chips usually contain two parts: an integrated circuit that stores information and a
receiver-transmitter (also called a transponder) that
senses when an appropriate scanning device is nearby and then
transmits a radio frequency message to the device. The scanner
picks up the radio signal and reads the information on the chip.
The articles cited by AP that were reviewed by the cancer experts
were studies on lab mice and rats that sometimes developed
sarcomas, or malignant tumours, after being implanted with
microchips. The sarcomas sometimes encased the implants, said the
AP report.http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/82032.php

SPYCHIPS
in Spanish Chips Espías: Cómo las grandes
corporaciones y el gobierno planean monitorear cada uno de sus
pasos con RFID could strip away our last shreds of privacy and
usher in a nightmare world of total surveillanceto keep us
all on Big Brothers very short leash.
About the Book
Chips Espías: Cómo las grandes corporaciones y el gobierno
planean monitorear cada uno de sus pasos con RFID is available at
your favorite local bookstore. You can also purchase it online
through http://www.amazon.com
or http://www.barnesandnoble.com
/
ISBN: 0-88113-066-4
Retail Price: $15.99 http://www.gruponelson.comhttp://www.hispanicprwire.com/news.php?l=in&id=6373&cha=7

Wibree -- 30 ft. rfid ... used with
sensors and mobile phonesWibree radio chips - which operate over a
distance of 30 feet - are also smaller than Bluetooth chips and
will suit devices which up to now do not typically have wireless
technology built-in. Watches, health monitors and sport sensors
are three of the uses touted by Nokia. The technology is also
likely to be used in mobile phones to help prolong battery power.
The new wireless system can transfer data at speeds of
up to 1Mbps, about a third of the speed of current Bluetooth
technologyhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/5403564.stmhttp://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=3707

RFID Knowledgebasewww.rfidbase.comSmart Labels Europe, Cambridge UK September 20-21, 2005 www.smartlabelsEUROPE.com.
Glossary http://www.rfid-101.com/rfid-glossary.htm
RFID  Radio Frequency Identification 
is an Automatic Data Collection (ADC) technology that uses
radio-frequency waves to transfer data between a reader and a
movable item to identify, categorize, and track. RFID is fast,
reliable, and does not require physical sight or contact between
reader/scanner and the tagged item. This non-line of sight
advantage means that tags can be read through a variety of
substances such as snow, fog, ice, paint, dirt, grime, and other
visually and environmentally challenging conditions. In these
conditions, barcodes or other optically read technologies would
be useless.

RFID tags can be read at very high speeds responding in less
than 100 milliseconds and in challenging circumstances. Because
of its versatility and performance, RFID has become indispensable
for a wide range of automated data collection and identification
applications that would not be possible otherwise. http://www.savi.com/rfid.shtml

There are three types of
RFid tagging :Active ,
Passive and Semi-Passive
RF id tags:

1.
There is "active" RFid which refers to a battery
operated tag and can be read from far-away....
from 330 feet or 100 meters

Semi-Active
Unlike passive, an RFID label (which draws all its power from the
radio waves transmitted by an RFID reader) and an active label
(which is powered entirely by battery), a semi-active
label uses a battery to run the microchips circuitry but
not tocommunicate with the reader.
The company says it chose to use a semi-active
label because such a label is simpler to design and cheap to
manufacture. http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/770/1/1/

2.
and there is "passive" RFid which refers to a tag that can only be read
(activated or energized ) by a hand-held scanner with a 33
foot range, or 10 meters. Most Passive tags have 13.56
Mhz

3. Semi-Passive rfid ;"Semi-Passive RFID is
slightly different from other forms of RFID in that semi-passive
tags have an on-board power supply that allows for the storage
and retrieval of data through the reader at greater distances.
Semi-passive RFID allows for read ranges of
up to 100 feet or
more in many instances. Unlike
satellite monitoring and tracking, RFID tags need to be in close
proximity of their corresponding readers in
order to be effectively monitored. [ Ed:
no GPS involved ] http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=5072http://www.apsrfid.com/ProductsAndServices/RFID.asp

The battery-assisted InfoStructure tag has a read/write
range that is greater than 100 meters across open space free
of interference and has shown more than 99 percent readability in
real-world environments that contain materials, surfaces or other
RF transmissions that could cause RF interference, according to
Intelleflex. The battery in the InfoStructure tag amplifies the
signal that the tag transmits, allowing for greater read and
write range than a passive tag, which does not contain a battery
and must use the power of a reader to transmit its signal.
The I-Beam reader can read and write to an InfoStructure tag, as
well as to other tags compatible with the proposed EPCglobal
Class 3 semi-passive protocol. It can also read and write to EPC
Class 2 tags (passive tags with increased memory capabilities and
the commonly used EPC Class 1 UHF tags, but because Class 1 and
Class 2 are passive tags, the range in which the I-Beam can read
them or write to them is significantly shorter.
Asthana says Intelleflex is working on a new version of the
InfoStructure semi-passive tag that will be compliant
with the EPCglobal Class 1 Gen 2 protocol.http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/1422/1/1/

VeriChip and other newsA tamper-proof identification device from VeriChip
Corporation, a division of Applied Digital Solutions, the
VeriChip, is implanted under the skin of a person for medical or
security purposes. Using RFID technology, a wand is waved over
the skin to pick up the unique number stored in the chip, which
is no larger than the tip of a ballpoint pen. In an outpatient
procedure, the VeriChip is implanted with a small incision and
local anesthesia. Combined with sensors to monitor
body functions, a VeriChip, like the Digital Angel device, can
provide monitoring for patients.http://www.dqindia.com/content/wifi/2005/105041601.asp

RANGES

VeriChip claimsGPS tracking ( different kinds of chips ..external and internal )please also see ORB and SIZE At present, these chips are imbedded into the document
surface, known as smart cards, and implanted beneath a
persons skin. Three types exist: high frequency (850-950
MHz and 2.4-5GHz), middle frequency (10-15 MHz) and low (100-500
kHz). Security applications will most likely use the low
frequency, which have shorter broadcasting rangesCompany documents state it is a
transceiver that sends
and receives data and can be
continuously tracked by GPS, which they
successfully demonstrated in 2000 at an investor launch.
Each chip carries a unique ID number and can be activated by an
external scanner, which causes a signal to transmit the data to a
telephone number, the Internet, or a storage device. The electromagnetics of muscular contraction power
the device, which is eventually surrounded by natural
tissue after insertion. The company claims that this chip is
superior to biometrics because it is impervious to tampering.The main limitation at present is the limited bandwidth
size for transmission of data to a patrol cars computerhttp://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=29037

There are four different kinds of tags
commonly in use. They are categorized by their radio frequency:

"High-frequency RFID tags are used
in library book or bookstore tracking, pallet tracking, building
access control, airline baggage tracking, and apparel item
tracking. High-frequency tags are widely used in identification
badges, replacing earlier magnetic stripe cards. These badges
need only be held within a certain distance of the reader to
authenticate the holder. "
Company documents state it is a transceiver that sends and
receives data and can be continuously tracked by GPS, which
they successfully demonstrated in 2000 at an investor launch.
Each chip carries a unique ID number and can be activated by an
external scanner, which causes a signal to transmit the data to a
telephone number, the Internet, or a storage device. The
electromagnetics of muscular contraction power the device, which
is eventually surrounded by natural tissue after insertion. The
company claims that this chip is superior to biometrics because
it is impervious to tamperinghttp://www.pierrepontconsulting.co.uk/rfid0.html

Rfid
tracking transmitters and transceivers A RFID tag is a small object that can be embedded
surreptitiously into a person, animal or product. The tags are
equipped with small antennas that allow them to
receive and respond to RFID transceivers or readers.
But unlike bar codes, radio tags can be read through packaging
material, and multiple tags can be read simultaneously.
Also unlike bar codes, RFID tags have identification numbers,
which means any tag can uniquely identify the object it is
attached to, even if that object is identical to numerous
other items.

RFID tags can be secretly embedded in clothing or other
products and people have no way of knowing when they're being
read. If there is a dense collection of reader
devices, a person with a radio tag attached to them can be
tracked to a specific time and place. If the unique ID number is
associated with an individual through a credit card or
other piece of information, it would be easy to create a profile
of that individual's shopping habits.Right now, the most powerful global corporations and
agencies around the world have literally (invested) hundreds of
millions of dollars and the average person has no idea this
infrastructure is being built around him or her," said Katherine
Albrecht, a consumer privacy expert who is considered one
of the leading authorities on privacy concerns relating to RFID
tags

"BizTalk
RFID" by Microsoft tracks rfid items But the biggest recent RFID move came when Microsoft
released BizTalk RFID,
its software to manage RFID networks.
It can track where tags are and what data they're reading, so companies and stores know exactly when it's time
to order this or that.
Microsoft's partners on the BizTalk project include Intel ..,
Hewlett-Packard .. and Motorola .., as well as RFID firms Alien,
Impinj, Zebra Technologies .. and others.
Fontanella calls the Microsoft news "a watershed
moment" that should greatly lower the cost of RFID systems
and thus spark sales.
"RFID is a very powerful technology," Mullen said.
"In addition to business applications, many companies think
it will be widely applied to the
consumer world
But such capabilities have RFID critics raising privacy concerns.
They fear it can be used to track and learn about consumershttp://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/newstex/IBD-0001-20311199.htm

METRO ( EU grocery) "Dr. Wolfram took time out of his busy
schedule to describe the progress of the roll-out when he
officially opened Europes latest showcase RFID showroom in
Barcelona. The showcase facility belongs to Checkpoint
Systems, who is the preferred systems integrator for METRO Group
along with IBMThe department store solutions include smart
rails and shelves, dual frequency hard tags and integrated RFID
swing labels, a Smart Merchandising and Information point, a
Smart Point Of Sale (POS) and Checkpoints dual frequency
EAS/RFID Gemini antenna, the latter of which is already in use in
METRO Groups Future Store in Rheinberg, Germanyhttp://www.checkpointeurope.com/app/?page=newsitem&locale=eu&id=461

rfid Security and Privacy Consortium ( CUSP ) CUSP would like to work to develop
cryptographic protocols and work with standards bodies to
incorporate stronger data protection tools into standard tag and
reader protocols, as well. Computer security firm RSA
Laboratories, represented by its manager and principal
research scientist Ari Juels, is also taking a central role in
the consortium, as both a sponsor and by participating in the
development of security tools and protocols.
In addition to enabling paymentand automatic-identification applications, says Juels,
RFID systems can also be used as security tools, such as key fobs
for cars or contactless smart cards in access control.Ed: They want to add cryptography to tags.http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/2642/1/1/

RFID The three primary technologies creating this growth will
be1. Real Time Location Systems (RTLS),
2. disposable RFID sensor systems,
including ones in the form of Smart Active Labels
(SALs), 3. and sophisticated multifunctional
devices.

These will serve the burgeoning market demand for tracking,
locating and monitoring people
and things, driven by security, safety, cost and other
factors.
Active RFID will create competitive advantage in consumer goods,
combat the new terrorism, other crime and threatened
epidemics of disease and serve consumers and governments
demanding better service, more information, food
traceability and condition monitoring.

ID tags vulnerable to software viruses The cat has a subdermal pet ID tag,
which the attacker rewrites with a virus using commercially
available equipment. He then goes to a veterinarian (or the
ASPCA), claims it is stray cat and asks for a cat scan. Bingo!
The database is infected. Since the vet (or ASPCA) uses this
database when creating tags for newly-tagged animals, these new
tags can also be infected. When they are later scanned for
whatever reason, that database is infected, and so on. Unlike a
biological virus, which jumps from animal to animal, an
RFID virus spread this way jumps from animal to database to
animal. The same transmission mechanism that applies
to pets also applies to RFID-tagged livestockhttp://www.line56.com/articles/default.asp?articleID=7439&TopicID=2

In a paper that was presented Wednesday at an
academic computing conference in Pisa, Italy, the researchers
demonstrated how it was possible to infect a tiny portion of
memory in the chips that was often large enough to hold only 128
characters of informationhttp://www.iht.com/articles/2006/03/15/business/tag.phpThese chips may be small, but just one infected RFID tag
is capable of disrupting an entire system with disastrous
consequences. Take, for example, the airport at Las Vegas, which
handles two million items of luggage per month.http://www.technologynewsdaily.com/node/2280The Vrije Universiteit team found that compact malicious
code could be written to RFID tags after all. By replacing a
tag's normal identification code with a carefully written
message, the researchers found they could exploit bugs in a
computer connected to an RFID reader. This made it possible to
spread a self-replicating computer worm capable of infecting
other compatible, and rewritable, RFID tagshttp://sf.indymedia.org/news/2006/03/1725711.php

and There are a number of different types of RFID
tag. Some receive an activation radio signal from a reading
device, collect power from that very signal, and use it to power
the transmission of their response. They have no
internal power, and are1. known
as passive.2. Then we
have semi-passive, which have their own power supply,
but await a signal before sending out their message.
3. Finally
there's active, which sends out a beacon
every now and then, using its own power sourcehttp://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=5072

Semi-passive tags with sensorsThe coming issue of our magazine will have a
feature on the benefits of using RFID combined with
sensors in the fresh produce industry, to improve
the shelf life of products. Sensors have many other
applications, as well. Infratab has
an innovative RFID sensor designed specifically for tracking
fresh-cut flowers, which also have a short shelf life. The pharmaceutical
industry needs to keep certain drug products within certain
temperature ranges for them to be effective.And blood, organs for transplant and other items within a
hospital need to be kept coldhttp://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/2081/1/128/

RFID Cloning A commercial RFID tag reader offers no
possibility to manipulate the lower layers of the protocol over
the air; it just gives you the ID,
or the piece of information that you requested, and it doesn't
tell you what it went through that get that. For ID-only tags
(like most low-frequency prox cards), the ID is really all that
there is to know. Modern tags are more complex, though; they do
things like anti-collision, or crypto, or addressable memory on
the tag. As these more interesting tags become more prevalent, it
seems terrible not to be able to know this, and that is not
possible without either (a) getting schematics and code for a
suitable commercial reader, or (b) starting from scratch. Option
(a) did not seem plausible; I therefore started from scratchhttp://cq.cx/proxmarkii.plhttp://cq.cx/verichip.pl

Two-factor
ID : a number and a biometric identifier ....
Currently there are news stories about VeriChip being clonable
and hackable.
We at Apocalyptic Hope do NOT see this happening, since the chip
is only one half of the identification system.
It also requires a biological-identifier ( fingerprint-image from
right hand) or iris scan
( from forehead ) to complete the strong authentication and
verification of the ID.Cloning
a verichip would be useless without also taking the person's
right hand and/ or forehead.For
more on this, please seehopetotheend.com/verification.html

Mandated rfid passports All U.S. passports will be implanted with
remotely-readable computer chips starting in October 2006, the
Bush administration has announced.
Sweeping new State Department regulations issued Tuesday say that
passports issued after that time will have tiny radio frequency
ID (RFID) chips that can transmit personal information including
the name, nationality, sex, date of birth, place of birth and
digitized photograph of the passport holder. Eventually, the
government contemplates adding
additional digitized data such as "fingerprints or iris
scanshttp://news.com.com/Passports+to+get+RFID+chip+implants/2100-7348_3-5913644.html?tag=nefd.ledermshttp://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2005/05-21284.

Rfid tracking --Mary Brown,
Capella UniversityRFID is an excellent tool in terms of security. It is a
terrible tool in terms of privacy, Brown says. For
me, what it comes down to is our technology has gotten ahead of
our ethics. When it comes to human tracking, I think we are
crossing the edgehttp://press.xtvworld.com/article7635.html

RFID Passports Technology experts have said that the
data on the chips, which will be read at a short distance by
electronic devices in a passport-control booth, could be
electronically intercepted and potentially misusedThe chips will also have enough memory to
add additional biometric
information in the future.
[ Ed: read-write chips ]
Some privacy groups fear that the chips could be a prelude to
tracking individuals' movements.http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/news.php?newsId=1853But the Bush administration chose to go
ahead with embedding 64KB chips in future passports, citing a
desire to abide by "globally
interoperable" standards devised by the
International Civil Aviation Organization,
a United Nations agencyIt's not clear, though, how well the
technique will work against high-powered readers that have been
demonstrated to read RFID chips from about 160 feet away.
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5913644.htmlmk

You need not be paranoid to fear RFID An anonymous reader writes "A story at
the Boston Globe covers
extensive privacy abuses involving RFID."
From the article: "Why is this so scary? Because so many
of us pay for our purchases with credit or debit cards, which
contain our names, addresses, and other sensitive information.
Now imagine a store with RFID chips embedded in every product. At
checkout time, the digital code in each item is associated with
our credit card data. From now on, that particular pair of shoes
or carton of cigarettes is associated with you. Even if you throw
them away, the RFID chips will survive. Indeed, Albrecht and
McIntyre learned that the phone company BellSouth Corp. had
applied for a patent on a system for scanning RFID tags in trash,
and using the data to study the shopping patterns of individual
consumers." I think they may be going a little overboard
with their stance, but it's always interesting to talk about.http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2005/10/10/you_need_not_be_paranoid_to_fear_rfid?mode=PFrms
Watching Us Through the Sorting Door Sorting Door will be a test-bed for studying
the massive databases that will be created by RFID
tags and readers, once they become ubiquitous. The
project will help legislators, regulators and businesses make
policies that balance the interests of industry,
national security and civil liberties, said Stapleton-Gray.Sorting Door participants will then investigate
how the RFID tag's unique serial numbers, called EPCs, can be merged with other data to identify
dangerous people and gather intelligence in a particular locationGovernment investigators could also
build profiles about individuals through the EPCs, such
as their tastes in clothing, or their reading preferences

RFID smart tags reveal all
Matched to databasesRFID tags transmit a unique signal when
brought into close proximity with the appropriate radio
transmission. This signal is sent to the RFID tag reader, which
then matches the unique signal to a database,
which retrieves the pertinent information.

The future uses of RFID tags are virtually infinite,
running the gamut from locating lost golf ballsto tracking individuals who have an
RFID chip embedded in their body.
Casino chips will utilize RFID tags to create a virtually
counterfeit-proof chip, while some hospitals have even begun
replacing standard patient ID bracelets with RFID bands -
allowing the hospital to know where every patient, doctor, or
piece of medical equipment is located.Additionally, RFID tags are susceptible to active attacks,
meaning that an intruder [ Ed. note:
including the government ] could actively send a
radio signal and steal the information on the RFID tag. Imagine
the consequences: a burglar could walk by your apartment, emit a
radio signal and discover exactly what possessions are located
inside.http://www.tuftsdaily.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/04/29/4271cef1d3771

RFID tags: the people say noA large number of letters also asserted that human RFID
tags are a demonic tool. Several pointed out that in the Bible,
Revelations 13:16-17 read: "And he causeth all, both small
and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in
their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might
buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast,
or the number of his name." http://news.com.com/RFID+tags+The+people+say+no/2010-1039_3-5332478.html?tag=nl

Biometric Digest -- Bill Rogershttp://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/8/prweb146963.htm
NOR WILL RFID TAGS BE THE ONLY WAY to surreptitiously
identify you. Soon there'll be another: through Internet Protocol
addresses. Right now, those numbers mainly identify intelligent
devices like computers and PDAs, and the device may not use the
same Internet address today as the one it used yesterday.
But Internet engineers are now rolling out a newer version of
addressing called IPv6.
This scheme uses addresses that are 128 bits long, instead of
the current 32. Through the miracle of binary arithmetic,
that yields 3 x 1038 addressesenough to assign
each sensor, widget, and appliance on the planet its very own
permanent IP address, thus creating what IPv6's proponents have
termed an "Internet of things." With every streetlight,
parking meter, and video camera potentially broadcasting
information about itself and everything it interacts with, you'll
know much more about everything around you.http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/WEBONLY/publicfeature/jul04/0704sens.html